ISHCP (Birk) Updated 8/12/15 Introductory Sociology for Healthcare Professions – Fall 2015 Professor Lara Birk ǀ birk@bc.edu SOCY100202 ǀ MW 5-­‐6:15pm ǀ Gasson 210 Office Hours: Mon 2-­‐4:30 p.m. and by appointment ǀ McGuinn 420 “We tend to think of dangers and uncertainties as anomalies in the continuum of life, or eruptions of
unpredictable forces into a largely predictable world. I suggest the contrary: that dangers and
uncertainties are an inescapable dimension of life. In fact, as we shall come to understand, they make
life matter. They define what it means to be human.”
– Arthur Kleinman
“If you have come here to help me, then you are wasting your time… But if you have come because
your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”
– Lila Watson
“Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.”
– Nelson Mandela
Welcome to ISHCP! Whether you are new to sociology or not, you should find this course challenging but reasonable. My philosophy is that you have as much to teach one other as I have to teach you. As such, discussion is a substantial part of this course. If you take this class, you agree to do each set of readings **prior** to the class in which we will discuss them and that you will be an active participant in class. Course Objectives: v For you to develop a sociological imagination about health and medicine v For you to think in new ways about society, the world around you, people who are different from you, and your own life and self v For you to strengthen the critical thinking, reading, writing, and speaking skills necessary for success in college and beyond v For us to discuss openly important if sensitive topics that affect us all as social beings v For us to practice engaging in civil discourse with one another whether we agree or not 1 ISHCP (Birk) Updated 8/12/15 Required Texts: 1. Readings for Sociology (7th edition), edited by Garth Massey [Hereafter referred to as “RS”] 2. Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross-­‐Cultural Readings in Sociology (8th edition), edited by John J. Macionis & Nijole V. Benokraitis [Hereafter referred to as “SO”] 3. Additional Readings in Course Reserves [Hereafter referred to as “Reserves”] Course Requirements: •
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15% Attendance & Participation* (*see me if you anticipate this will be unduly challenging for you) 10% Co-­‐Leadership of One Class Discussion (with an assigned partner) 10% In-­‐Class Quizzes (5 of 7 total unannounced quizzes worth 2 points each) 20% First Paper – 5-­‐6 page Sociological Autobiography 20% Second Paper – 5-­‐6 page Sociological Analysis 25% Take Home Final (Cumulative) Course Description This course is designed to do two central things, and the structure of the course reflects both aims. One, we will cover the basic essentials of introductory sociological concepts and theoretical approaches as we would in any other Introductory Sociology course (paying particular attention to material that may appear on the MCAT). Two, we will explore these ideas as they apply both to the medical field and also to your anticipated participation in that field, and during one extended section of the course, we will examine concepts fundamental to medical sociology and the sociology of health and illness. Throughout the semester, we will consider many perennial questions, such as is society “fair”? Why do some groups have more power than others? Are we free agents or does society exert some control on and influence over our lives and choices? We will sustain an intense focus on class, race, and gender, as well as sexual orientation and disability. We will examine different groups’ relations to power and attend to the many ways in which these factors intersect and affect our own lives, particularly as pre-­‐healthcare professionals. The development of a “sociological imagination” is at the heart of this course. Throughout, we will take up C. Wright Mills’ call for us to investigate the relationship between “personal troubles” and “public issues.” In other words, we will analyze the connections between the seemingly private events of our own lives (and those of our future patients) on the one hand, and history and social structure on the other. I will challenge you to use the course to critically examine your previously held assumptions and unarticulated beliefs and to develop a thoughtful and informed approach to not only your future in the medical field but to life in general. You should come away with a richer sense of your own place in society and your potential to make a difference in it as a healthcare professional grounded in important sociological insights. Disability Policy Boston College strives to allow full participation from all students. If you are a student with a documented disability seeking reasonable accommodations in this course, please contact Kathy Duggan, (617) 552-­‐8093, dugganka@bc.edu, at the Connors Family Learning Center regarding learning disabilities and ADHD, or Paulette Durrett, (617) 552-­‐3470, paulette.durrett@bc.edu, in the Disability Services Office regarding all other types of disabilities, including temporary disabilities. Advance notice and appropriate documentation are required for accommodations. Academic Integrity Violations of academic integrity are a serious matter. For details on BC’s policies, please see http://www.bc.edu/offices/stserv/academic/integrity.html. 2 ISHCP (Birk) Updated 8/12/15 Section 1: Introduction to Sociology Date Due Assignment Topic Mon. 8/31 Introductions Wed. 9/2 RS Ch. 2 (Mills: Sociological Imagination); SO Ch. 2 (Berger: Invitation to Sociology) & SO Ch. 4 (Miner: Body Ritual of the Nacirema) The Sociological Imagination LABOR DAY NO CLASS Mon. 9/7 Wed. 9/9 Mon. 9/14 RS Ch. 3 (Durkheim: What Makes Sociology Different); SO Ch. 6 (Babbie: The Importance of Social Research) & RS Ch. 6 (Best: Telling the Truth about Damned Lies and Statistics) SO Ch. 15 (Mead: The Self); RS Ch. 18 (Goffman: On Facework); SO Ch. 20 (Goffman: Presentation of Self in Everyday Life) What is Sociology? The Social Self Section 2: Structure & Identity: Gender, Class, Race, Sexual Orientation, & Disability Date Due Wed. 9/16 Mon. 9/21 Wed. 9/23 Mon. 9/28 Wed. 9/30 Mon. 10/5 Assignment RS Ch. 14 (Messner: Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the Construction of Masculinities); Kilbourne: The More You Subtract, the More You Add (Reserves); SO Ch. 39 (Lorber: Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender) Herek: Beyond Homophobia (Reserves); Kimmel: Masculinity as Homophobia (Reserves) RS Ch. 15 (Lareau: Concerted Cultivation and the Accomplishment of Natural Growth); Lubrano: The Bricklayer’s Son (Reserves); RS Ch. 20 (Bettie: Women Without Class) McIntosh: White Privilege and Male Privilege (Reserves); RS Ch. 22 (Waters: Optional Ethnicities); SO Ch. 44 (Brodkin: How Did Jews Become White Folks?); SO Ch. 45 (Zhou: Are Asian Americans Becoming White?) Sue, et al: Racial Microaggressions and the Asian American Experience (Reserves); Powell et al: Toward a Transformative View of Race (Reserves) Ferguson: Bad Boys, The Punishing Room (Reserves); RS Ch. 29 (Chambliss: The Saints & the Roughnecks) 3 Topic Gender Sexual Orientation & Homophobia Social Class Social Construction of Race & Ethnicity Racism Labeling Theory ISHCP (Birk) Updated 8/12/15 Wed. 10/7 WED. 10/7 Bogle: Hooking Up, Ch. 6 (Reserves); Armstrong et al: Sexual Assault on Campus (Reserves) Hook-­‐Up Culture & Sexual Assault on Campus 5-­‐6 PAGE PAPER DUE SOCIOLOGICAL AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY Section 3: Sociological Lens on Health and Medicine Date Due Mon. 10/12 Wed. 10/14 Mon. 10/19 Wed. 10/21 Mon. 10/26 Wed. 10/28 Mon. 11/2 Wed. 11/4 Mon. 11/9 Assignment Topic HOLIDAY NO CLASS Williams & Sternthal: Understanding Racial-­‐ethnic Disparities in Health (Reserves); Link and Phelan: Social Conditions as Fundamental Causes of Disease (Reserves) Biosocial Determinants of Health Inequalities Conrad, et al: Estimating the Costs of Medicalization (Reserves); Clarke, et al: Biomedicalization (Reserves) Medicalization SO Ch. 27 (Beagan: Even If I Don’t Know What I’m Doing…); Timmermans and Oh: The Continued Transformation of the Medical Profession (Reserves) SO Ch. 63 (Dorkenoo & Elworthy: Female Genital Mutilation); WHO on FGM (Reserves); Farmer: Never Again? Reflections on Human Values and Human Rights (Reserves) Kleinman: The Personal and Social Meanings of Illness (Reserves); Frank: When Bodies Need Voices (Reserves) Garland Thomson: Shape Structures Story: Fresh and Feisty Stories about Disability (Reserves); Mairs: On Being a Cripple (Reserves); Seibers: Disability in Theory (Reserves) Parker-­‐Oliver: The Social Construction of the Dying Role… (Reserves); Hartocollis: Hard Choice for a Comfortable Death (Reserves); Goodnough: As Nurse Lay Dying (Reserves) Styron: from Darkness Visible (Reserves); Karp: Searching for Authenticity (Reserves); Kirmayer: Cultural Variations in the Clinical Presentation of Depression and Anxiety (Reserves) Medicine as a Profession Human Rights and the Role of Culture Illness Experience and Patients Telling Stories Physical Disability Death and Dying Mental Illness Wed. 11/11 Jackson: Stigma, Liminality, and Chronic Pain (Reserves) Stigma and Chronic Physical Pain WED. 11/11 5-­‐6 PAGE PAPER DUE SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTHCARE ESSAY 4 ISHCP (Birk) Updated 8/12/15 Section 3: Macro Sociology: Capitalism, Democracy, & Economic Inequality Date Due Assignment Mon. 11/16 Wed. 11/18 SO Ch. 11 (Marx and Engels: Manifesto of the Communist Party); SO Ch. 49 (Mills: The Power Elite); Rothkopf: Superclass, Introduction (Reserves) RS Ch. 31 (Gans: Uses of the Underclass in America); SO Ch. 37 (Eglitis: The Uses of Global Poverty: How Economic Inequality Benefits the West) RS Ch. 23 (Ehrenreich: Nickel and Dimed); Dodson & Zincavage: It’s Like A Family (Reserves); RS Ch. 25 (Thompson: Hanging Tongues) Mon. 11/23 Wed. 11/25 Topic THANKSGIVING BREAK Capitalism & Democracy Economic Inequality Labor NO CLASS Section 4: Deviance & Social Control Date Due Assignment Mon. 11/30 Wed. 12/2 Mon. 12/7 Wed. 12/9 SO Ch. 28 (Durkheim: The Functions of Crime); SO Ch. 30 (Anderson: The Code of the Streets); SO Ch. 31 (Farley: Prostitution: A Worldwide Business of Sexual Exploitation) SO Ch. 29 (Rosenhan: On Being Sane in Insane Places); Goffman: The Mortified Self (Reserves); RS Ch. 32 (Shearing and Stenning: From Panopticon to Disney World) RS Ch. 5 (Kelman and Hamilton: The My Lai Massacre); Meyer: If Hitler Asked You to Electrocute a Stranger… (Reserves) Alexander: The New Jim Crow, Introduction (Reserves); Coates: Trayvon Martin and the Irony of American Justice (Reserves); Blow: The Perfect-­‐Victim Pitfall (Reserves) Mon. 12/14 Take-­‐Home Final DEADLINE by 12 noon via email Topic Deviance Total Institutions & Social Control Obedience Criminal Justice & Policing FINAL (ESSAY) **I reserve the right to make changes to this syllabus at any time, provided I give you fair and ample warning** 5